Rachel Berry: Fairy Godmother
by DiviaDime
Summary: Rachel and Mike story, with some Ken thrown in and the rest of Glee as supporting. Set in Hell-o and breaks from there, no spoilers from the last eight eppies. See inside for a better summary!
1. Chapter 1

**Author: DiviaDime**

**Pairing,Character(s): Mike/Rachel, Ken Tanaka (most of glee play a part)**

**Rating: R**

**Spoilers: Through Hell-o**

**Summary: When, on "accident", Rachel Berry learns that Mike Chang is in serious trouble, she goes to an unlikely source for help- throwing the Glee world out of orbit in the process. Unlikely roommates, fake romances, uneasy allies, parties, world's colliding, internet dating…oh yeah and we can't forget true love- put to song and dance!**

**Why?: Because Mike is the shiz and Rachel rocks! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee**

**This is my first gleefic, this is also my first fanfiction in a long, long time!**

**If you want to Beta me (I need it, obvuiously, haha) please let me know! I'll be so grateful!**

**Rachel Berry: Fairy Godmother**

Rachel/Mike, Ken Tanaka (a lot of Glee friendships and stuff)

Prologue:

Friends Of The Sun

Mike Chang was a quiet, private person. He didn't complain, he didn't bitch, he didn't talk about his problems or want more solos. He liked dancing and he didn't even complain when Mr. Schue gave them moves that would make even the most dancing inept shudder, Mike went along with them.

He was a go with the flow guy and Rachel Berry had always noted that about him. It wasn't that she was conscientious of others or that he was her friend. It was, of course, because Mike was the most talented dancer in Glee and it was always important to note talent when seen. Moreover, he was a potential ally and when someone was as unpopular as Rachel Berry, noting people who could help her ascertain important goals was something worth being aware of. There would come a time when she needed more resources. Her fathers had always told her that and she _always_ took their advice into account.

So when she was walking down an empty hallway (which, she decided was very creepy and she was very grateful for her rape whistle, pepper spray and fog horn), having waited for Finn after the basketball game, only to be evaded and she saw the unshakable Mike Chang punch his locker hard enough to dent it, she was surprised, to say the very least. He was out of his uniform, wearing a white beater and a pair of regular navy blue gym shorts. Rachel also noted that Mike Cahgn was an _athlete_ and a disciplined one, thusly he had the body of such. Lean, muscular and trained. Being someone with eyes, she appreciated that.

He turned, pressed his back against the locker and slid down it, eyes closed, until his knees were almost touching his head and his right elbow rested on one and his palm was on his forehead, fingers tugging on the shag that usually hung in his eyes. For a moment Rachel just looked at him, overcome by the startling image that was in so many movies and so many television shows she had witnessed (to look for tips on how to act well so she could be famous. Television watching was not a past time for her, it was research).

Instead of approaching, as she would normally do, with a mouth full of words that were probably just overbearing to him, as she was suddenly learning with Finn, she whirled quietly into a classroom and peaked out from the doorway, hoping he didn't see her.

He sat there for a few moments, muttering something before getting to his feet, shoulders still sagging before opening his locker. He took out a bag (well, sort of pulled and tugged at it until the oversized duffle bag fell to the floor). He slung it over his left shoulder and turned around, walking down the hall as though the weight of the world was on him. Rachel would have had to been inhuman not to be left saddened by the visual (and contrary to the popular belief in Glee and McKinley, she was, indeed, very human). Still struck, she waited for him to turn the corner before following him, stealthily, of course. She was a dancer, she could be stealthy and besides, her secret passion was espionage movies. Spies were totally hot. So she definitely had the abilities to follow one highschool boy. He was going towards the auditorium, to practice? She knew he was dedicated- but it was pretty late and even she would be abandoning her continuous practice and aspirations for fame to enjoy dreamland by this time! However hiding and watching from the auditorium would be much easier than an empty hallway. So she continued to slink after him, ducking behind some seats as he walked up to the stage and disappeared behind the curtains. He came back out, not only with his duffel bag but with a sleeping bag too…

A sleeping bag?

She smothered a gasp with her hand and squinted to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her in the darkened auditorium. They weren't. It was a sleeping bag! Mike walked down the side steps of the stage and towards the seats.

Finally, unable to contain herself, Rachel stood up. "Mike- why are you sleeping in the auditorium?"

Her presence elicited a yelp from her pursued and he dropped what was in his hands, almost falling over in the process. His chocolate eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What the hell? Are you spying on me?"

"I followed you," she responded honestly, tripping a little over one of the seats as she extricated herself from the row to walk down the path to get closer to him. "Why are you sleeping here?"

"Why are you following me?"

"You punched a locker. You don't do stuff like that." She shrugged, "I'm concerned."

"Actually, I do stuff like that. I do lots of stuff you don't know about. It's not like we're friends." Every time someone said that to her, it always stung, even when she knew it was the truth. She didn't have friends, well there was Finn, but other than him there was no one and Finn was acting weird. She was busy trying not to notice but it didn't matter, as oblivious as she _tried_ to be in order to focus on her goals, reality still liked to seep through. Her disappointment must have shown though because a second later he was sighing. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."

"Yes. It is." She replied succinctly, "we're not friends. But you are a fellow Glee Clubber and that does mean something to me. So please, Mike, why are you sleeping in the auditorium? And why am I suddenly thinking you've been sleeping in the auditorium for more than one night?"

He stared at her, directly into her eyes, like he was searching for something. Finally, very blandly and as though it meant nothing, he stated: "My parents' kicked me out two months ago."

"Why? Are you pregnant too?"

He chuckled, "no."

"Gay?"

"_No_."

"In a gang?"

"Rachel, we're in suburbia."

"Then why?" she pressed, not giving up. She searched his face for a hint, some kind of emotion but he was staring back stoically. "You're a passably decent student, an athlete, popular, funny- actually, you're a parent's wet dream. Well, not my parents wet dream, I'm my parent's wet dream-"

"Glee." He interrupted

"What?" she asked, surprised once again. That was happening a lot in the last ten minutes.

"They forbid dancing."

"Wait- what? Forbid dancing? But- but why?! Are they insane?"

"Pretty much. Have you ever heard of that group- Friends of the Sun?"

Surprise number six-hundred and thirty-five. "Your parents are in _cult_?" Again, they were just looking at each other and Rachel couldn't help but feel the enormity of the situation. There was this boy, handsome, seemed to have it all and he was sleeping in an auditorium because his parents were in a cult. It was just too unreal but worse yet was his complete acceptance of all of it. Now, confronted with the situation and someone knowing it, he was completely nonplussed and seemed utterly detached when only moments earlier he was punching lockers.

So who the hell was Mike Chang?

Well, there was, of course, only one solution to the whole problem and that was her. She solved everything. Easy as that. "Well, get your bag. Come on, lets go."

"Get my- what?" He shook his head.

She put her hands on her hips and stared him down unwaveringly, knowing what the weight of that did- even to her fathers who were accustomed to it. "Your bag, Mike. Come on, get it. You're coming home with me. My dads are on vacation- I wouldn't go even though they begged. While Hawaii sounds fun and nice, obviously I need to be practicing with the club if we ever want to win regionals so I opted to stay home. So you're going to live with me for two weeks or until we find you another place to stay."

"Did I ask for your help?"

"Do you want the whole club to know your situation?"

He narrowed his eyes, "that's blackmail."

Rachel smiled (her thousand watter, as daddy called it), "so what? I want to win regionals and we can't have you malnourished or tired, you're the backbone of our dancing team, Mike. You're important. However, even important people fail when tired so come on, I'm going to solve this whole big cult and homeless thing."

He blinked, seemingly too overwhelmed to argue anymore and handed her the sleeping bag.

"Have you eaten dinner yet? I made an amazing salad and casserole this morning that's just divine. I'm almost as good a cook as I am a singer, you know. It's too bad I'm so skilled and will be so famous one day because I'd be a great housewife. But then how boring would that be? Of course, not for my husband, who would be the luckiest man alive. Do you think Finn likes Casserole?" Mike had fallen into step with her as she walked back up the auditorium as they exited together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

His life was trashed, had been for quite some time and he had started the day under a cloud of misery that told him that it was not going to get better, that it could only get worse and that maybe his parents had passed down their crazy genes to him. So then how was it he was in a pink car with Rachel Berry, who had Celine Dion playing and he felt completely normal? In fact, at that particular moment, he was not thinking about The Friends Of The Sun, he was not thinking about how everything he possessed was in a bag on his shoulder and his locker at gym, no, no he was thinking about how _incredibly hot_ the preppy look was as he watched the tiny skirt Rachel was wearing ride up her thigh as she hit the gas pedal a little harder, accelerating her car.

Rachel drove a _pink_, 2010 Chevy Cobalt. Pink.

"Thank God you're not wearing that stupid Team Finn shirt again."

"I thought it was funny- you know, like team Jacob? Team Edward?"

"Huh?"

"Ask Tina." She responded, suddenly sounding bored. Had she exhausted the topics about herself? Impossible- there was always more to say about Rachel Berry. She might even be pleased with the amount of rumors that had inundated the school about her, even if most of them vicious. "So how long have your parents been nuts?"

"Since before I was born, probably." Mike sighed and stretched out in the car, catching more of her creamy skin out of the corner of his eye. If her skirt went any higher he was going to see some panties soon enough. Damn. "As long as I can remember, actually. But they got worse over the last two years. Then four months ago, BAM! Full on insanity. Suddenly I'm the devil because I like to dance and sing. Whatever, they quake and shake like psychos on a crack binge and talk about how the mighty one talks to them, but I'm some kind of freak because I like to dance?"

Rachel was quiet. He had managed to shut Rachel Berry up- this was one for the books. However he didn't like the quiet instead, in truth, he liked when Rachel talked for a few reasons. Firstly, she was funny, secondly, she was honest and thirdly, she was not batshit crazy. McKinley High didn't even know what batshit crazy was when they called her that. "Anyway- so they freak, tell me it's Glee or them. Like there's a decision. I don't even like them. Getting kicked out was the happiest day of my life."

"Oh, Mike." She whispered, sounding horrified. "So you were just going to make a go of it on your own?"

He shrugged, "I can do it. I already have a job."

"But you're just in high school."

"People live on their own all the time." He told her succinctly, getting agitated and he wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was because of the way she was saying it, like being she was above it all or something or maybe it was because he was just being sensitive (something he did not like to admit), either way, irritation was growing. "Just because-"

She cut him off before the damaging words he was about to say could come out. "That's really brave, you know? I don't know what I'd do. I'd freak out and probably end up pepper spraying some poor innocent guy who was just trying to help me or something. I fair well in adverse situations, please, don't mistake that, but even that's a little out of my league. Of course, maybe I could sing for money." She sighed heavily as they approached a sizeable house on Marken street, a few lanes down from Brittany and Quinn's homes. "Thankfully, you won't have to deal with such terrible circumstances," she went on as they pulled into the driveway and through the garage door (which was bigger than his parent's homeand served as the base of their white home) there was a car inside the double garage and she pulled in next to it. It was not just any car though, it was a fucking beauty. White and gorgeous, like some kind of dream. She noticed where his stare was going, "oh, that's Daddy's Do you like it? It's a 1965 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider."

"It's…sex." He immediately got out of the car, abandoning his worldly possessions to walk around it, study and admire it like it was some sort of God. It kind of was, a kid like him could only dream of a car like this. He was just another LimaLoser, he'd never be able to own one.

She laughed (even that was musical and it followed him in the garage) as the door closed and she stepped out of her car, locking it with a beep. She leaned against her (again, pink) cobalt. When he turned to look at her, she was smiling and it was the first warmth he had felt all day. "Daddy says the same thing. I'll ask him if we can drive it when I talk to him later. He always lets me because I'm very careful."

"Daddy's little girl, huh?"

"Someone has to love me," she answered, but he had the feeling he wasn't supposed to hear that as it was mostly under her breath. "Yes," she said more loudly and motioned for him to follow her upstairs.

Following her up the steps to her home was an amazing opportunity and Mike wanted to thank God for short skirts and women's clothing. However did men survive in the days when skirts reached women's ankles? The blue pleats flirted as they danced over her smooth thighs and if he creaked his neck a little he could see the some pink cloth he believed to be her panties. Damn. Damn. Damn.

_Someone has to love me._

He pulled back guiltily and stopped trying to look up her skirt. Yeah, she was rich and she had a daddy with a great car, she was dating the once-upon-a-time mr. popularity and she had talent in spades…

But no one had ever sounded more lonely.

"This house is amazing. Are your dads rich?"

She shrugged, "one of them was fired for being gay. He now owns that business." She told him flatly, "we weren't always so affluent but we've always been upper middle class."

She opened the door that led them directly into a dining area with a large, spacious kitchen attached. It was a black and red theme, which she immediately noted as important by telling him that her 'dad' and not 'daddy' was a huge fan of the color red. The carpeting in the dining area was black, while the kitchen's linoleum was red and a large red (though it was not bright, it was a dark shade) counter/bar separated the two rooms. There were three chairs at the counter, which Rachel said was where they usually ate because the dining table (which was black), was used for business dinners and company. She motioned for him to have a seat at the counter while she sauntered into the kitchen and poked her head into the refrigerator, which was solid black, and pulled out a bowl, placing it in front of him. Then she reached in again and pulled out another bowl, this time placing it directly into the microwave above the refrigerator (which was also black. Did everything freaking match in this place?). "My dads love the way I cook," she assured him.

"Uh. Okay. I'm sure it's good."

She paused, biting her lip and looking at him, as though she wanted to say something but wasn't sure. He waited, knowing that it was going to pour out and sure enough it did. "I promise that I'm going to fix this for you, Mike. We have two weeks, because my dad's are not going to let some hot guy live in a house with their precious, talented, perfect daughter. In two weeks I promise everything is going to be better. I'll solve everything for you so don't you worry- Rachel Berry is on the case!"

"It's not up to you to fix all my problems." Mike told her, not sure how to take that little speech at all. "I'm sure you have your own issues to deal with."

"Well," she began slowly, "there is my ever grueling myspace schedule and dating a super popular sports star and Glee Club member but I'm a very multi-talented and focused individual."

"I know you are."

She smiled broadly, "really?"

"Rachel, you're like Wonderwoman- but less scantily clad."

"You really believe I can help you?" She asked again, completely surprised. "Really?"

Because she needed to hear it and because, somewhere deep inside, he needed to believe it, he said, "I really believe you can."

And also, he thought with a smile, _you think I'm hot._

_Preview: _

_Mike saves Rachel's day_

_Mike reveals why he wants his homelessness kept a secret_

**Chapter One**

**Crush(ed)**

(italics in small portions are thoughts while in larger portions, italics are memories or flashbacks)

Watching as Will and Emma flirted was like having tiny little nails being pounded all over Ken Tanaka's flesh at one time. Wonderful images of that actually happening to Will was what was getting through him each day. Well, there was that and the weed. And the beer. Oh…and WWE.

So while Will and Emma were just as happy as two pigs in shit, there he stood, outside looking in, forty pounds heavier, high as a kite and smelling like something out of a garbage can. Worse yet, he didn't care. He didn't give a damn. It was like everything inside of him was dying. "Yo coach, you ready for another craptastic game tonight?" Catcalled one of the students behind him but when he turned around to see which little miscreant it was, they were lost in a sea of kids. He was not too fond of kids at the moment. He could see why they liked to throw each other in dumpsters; he'd like to throw them all in dumpsters- and the staff too.

Not that he was bitter or anything.

Rounding the corner, he walked through the kids without paying much attention. They scattered out of the way- usually out of fear because he was usually very angry. Maybe it was because he smelled- he didn't much care. He worked for his money and no one bothered him because he had minority status. They'd be so piled in litigation if they fired him their grandkids would be destitute.

At least that brought a smile to his face.

When he spotted Emma (looking like an angel) coming his way, he ducked into a classroom. To his luck (or lackthereof) someone else took it. Rachel Berry, who was sobbing into her red sweater, occupied his would-have-been sanctuary. As Ken saw it he had two choices, deal with one of Will's demonic minions or be confronted with the woman that crushed his heart.

Minion it was.

When she looked up he saw the tears streaked down her crumbling face. She was trying to wipe them away, to regain composure and stop crying despite knowing that it was useless. Once you started crying, you continued crying no matter how much you wanted to stop, he, sadly, knew that for fact. To say they were both uncomfortable was an understatement. She stood then, cleared her throat and gave him the most forced smile he had ever seen one person give. "Coach Tanaka, I hope your team loses every game this season." She told him crisply and started out of the room.

She brushed past him, back erect and very proud.

Then, like he had lost control over himself and he was channeling some kind of ultra-sensitive Dr. Phil type, he touched her arm and stopped her. "You okay, kid?"

"He wants to live a rock star lifestyle," she said stiffly, her voice catching in the end. She hadn't turned to look at him, nor did she say who 'he' was, though it was pretty obvious. "He doesn't want me. He probably never wanted me." He swallowed past a lump in his throat, knowing more than anyone what it was like to not be wanted, to have your heart be crushed and to know what defeat felt like. Isn't that how he spent most of his life, anyway? She turned to look at him, fighting tears, trying to look so strong that it just broke his heart even more, "none of them in the club really like me. Not even Mr Schuester. That's- that's why it is so important that I'm so talented, Coach Tanaka. Because otherwise- how much am I worth?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that. He wasn't the wordy type, unless it was griping or yelling. Emma would probably be better at handling this mushy stuff but she wasn't around and he knew she didn't really like Rachel anyway. So he was going to have to due and hope he didn't completely traumatize her for the rest of her life (thank God he didn't have kids). "Look, I don't know you all that well." He told her truthfully, "but I know that you're more than just a voice and a dance, kid." And now for the part where he could see his termination slip floating before his eyes, because hitting on students trumped minority status any day, and even though he wasn't trying to get in this girl's pants (ew, she was a baby), it could look that way to some idiot just walking by. _Oh well, here goes nothing_. "But I know you're very beautiful and you're very smart. I also know that you're very driven and all of those things are going to take you out of this shit-town and right into the spotlight. Maybe these other kids, their jealous, because you know what you want and they don't have a clue. Hell, I bet Shue doesn't even know what he wants out of life. You, however do. I bet that really grinds their gears."

She looked up at him, her chocolate eyes full of surprise and gratitude (however still red from crying). "You…you really think so?"

"You have star written all over you." He assured her.

Then she surprised him by jumping into his arms and squeezing him tightly. Yup, he was going to get fired but he hugged her back anyway, he needed one as much as she did. "Miss. Pillsbury is a fool and a jerk." When she let go of him, she looked sheepish, "we'll show 'em, Coach Tanaka. We'll show 'em all."

He laughed and shook his head, "will we, now?"

"Well," she paused, "we will after you shower."

He couldn't help it. He laughed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was all real.

Mike had realized this, for the first time, when he woke up to his clothes laid out for him, a list beside them and a new calendar on the guest room wall of Rachel Berry's home. He was really the son of two nutcases and living, temporarily, with Rachel Berry who had decided to take complete control over his life. None of it had been a dream.

She had laid out a white, button down dress shirt and black slacks which he had cheerfully ignored. Instead, he put on his white t-shirt and over it a yellow and gray flannel. After consideration though, he kept the black slacks. The guest room looked like a man's room, with its black and gray horizontally striped walls, large, uneven stripes and the tracked brown carpeting. He had a king-sized bed with a small nightstand, a dresser and a some little cubby-hole shelving for his things, all white (though his comforter was blue). There was even a glass sliding door to get outside to their patio and apparently there was one from Rachel's room too because when he woke up she was already out there, stretching in her tiny shorts and tank top, body glistening from sweat. Her hair was pulled back into a neat, pristine ponytail and, even after working out, she looked neat and pressed.

_He stepped out and she looked at him, her eyes narrowed on his clothing but before she could go into some monologue about how he should do what she tells him, he cut her off. "This is my style. I like how I dress."_

"_I was just going to say that you look nice." _

"_Oh. Where did you get clothes my size, anyway?"_

"_My daddy looked your size. Did you sleep well?"_

"_Better than I have in a very long time, thank you, Rachel." He smiled, "and you don't need to write me a schedule. That's how I do my schedule already."_

_Her head snapped up, "what?"_

"_I'm organized. I have to be and this is the way to be organized." He tapped the schedule she gave him. They were just standing there, in the morning air, smiling at each other like two kids who finally found someone who understood a joke nobody else laughed at. Finally, he broke it, because this was Finn's girl and, even if sometimes he was annoyingly stupid (something he was often surrounded with), they were still friends, teammates and Glee club members. It was not right to be making eyes at his lady in the wee hours of the morning when just the night before he had been trying to look up her skirt. "I'll let you finish your stretches." He started to turn around but she stopped him with her hand on his shoulder._

"_There's cereal in the first cupboard on the left, top shelf and soy milk in the refrigerator." She instructed._

"_Thanks." _

"_Oh." He turned back again at her voice and met her eyes. They were shadowed and he couldn't read them. "Thanks for…staying here. It was nice not to be alone in this big house."_

He couldn't help but smile at the memory and the expression went largely ignored by most of the other teammates as they discussed plays and ways to improve this team, since football was such a bust (sans Kurt's dancing queen save), they were going to focus on basketball and hope to succeed there. He looked like he was paying attention, he laughed when the other guys laughed and he nodded at the right times but his mind was elsewhere.

He looked around the cafeteria, watched all the different kids with all of their different lives and wondered how dissimilar they all really were. Certainly they had the same worries, will I get the grades I need? Does the person I want like me? Am I invisible? Will I impress my parents?

His problems were just a _tiny_ bit different and it made him feel even more alone. The happiness from the morning was slowly starting to drain away and he knew the dull ache in his chest came from a lack of belonging- anywhere. They guys didn't treat him differently like they did Finn and Puck, he didn't get slushied and he didn't get ragged on. Neither did Matt. Finn was always asking them how they managed to get away with being in Glee. The answer was easy- no one really noticed he and Matt (unless they were dating Brittany and Santana, but even Mike didn't have the patience for those two). So he usually felt alone and he knew that Matt often felt the same way- though they didn't show it, not even to each other really.

It wasn't until _her_ name got brought up that he found himself actually listening to the conversation at hand. "So word on the street is you and manhands are done." (Okay, so it wasn't her name and it didn't even fit her as a description but it had become so synonymous with her name that he had keyed in on it. "And that you are picking up with Brittany and Santana."

Mike stole a glance at Matt, to see if he'd react, but there was nothing. Then again, Matt had been acting strange, talking to him less. At first Mike had been afraid he was found out but he quickly realized, Matt has his own teen angst issues to work through. Then again- didn't they all? Still Matt didn't seem pissed Finn was with his ex- Mike, however, couldn't help himself but glaring, even if no one noticed.

Poor Rachel.

Finn looked nervous, like he wanted to defend Rachel, but couldn't.

So Mike did something he hadn't done in a long time, he decided to take center stage. He looked directly at John Myers, the Neanderthal that couldn't help but rip on Rachel and Glee and then looked to Finn, who looked like a deer caught in headlights and said, enunciating very clearly so he was not misunderstood, "so does that mean that Rachel is free to date?"

John laughed, "yeah- like anyone would date her."

"So she's free," Mike insisted, keeping his tone only slightly casual.

Finn said something inaudible, cleared his throat and said louder, "if this is because I'm going out with Brittany, Mike, I mean- don't just use Rachel to get back at me. She," he looked at John but then continued, which surprised Mike, "she's actually kind of cool."

"I know she is," Mike responded, "which is why I'm asking if I'm free to date her."

"Uh- sure, yeah. I guess." But he didn't sound certain and Mike could tell that Finn wanted to say the exact opposite. Well that was just too damn bad.

"Great. Thanks." Mike smiled, lifted his tray and started away from the table.

Matt was quickly following suit, "dude, you just committed social suicide- actually. I think I just did too by following you." He laughed a little, nervously, then shrugged it off. "Oh well, they can't kick us off the team anyway- other then Puck and Finn- we're the best players. Screw it- we're better than them too."

Mike laughed, "exactly. Screw it all, man."

"So you're going to ask Rachel Berry out, huh?" Mike nodded as he dumped his tray into the garbage and waited for Matt to do the same. "I guess hot outweighs high-maintenance, huh?"

"Doesn't it always?" Mike asked with a laugh as they walked out of the cafeteria. "I don't think Rachel is exactly who we think she is- I mean sure, she's got an ego on her. But if you had her voice, wouldn't you?"

"Hell yes."

"We don't go around telling people we can't dance, right?" Mike went on he waved to his Environmental science partner, Wayne, who was walking the other way down the hall with his girlfriend. Matt waved at him too and they yelled something about Trig class at each other before continuing down their separate paths. They continued on with their conversations, "besides, she smells good."

"And she's hot." Matt agreed, "think she'll say yes?"

Mike was pretty sure she would but not for the reasons Matt was asking. He asked Matt's question, privately, to himself. _Was she worth social suicide? _In one short day Rachel Berry had shown him more compassion than his team had since he joined it. She understood him, in one conversation, more than any other girl ever had. She was hung up on Finn- so she wasn't going to really be interested but she had helped him and now he wanted to help her. So yeah, she was worth it, he finally answered for himself, she was maybe more than worth it. "I hope so," Mike answered. _I just have to put it to her in the right way, _Mike decided, _tell her how jealous it will make Finn. We'll drive him insane and he'll want her back in no time! Then I'll be repaying her for all her help._

It was the perfect, perfect plan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So after Ken showered and put on a fresh pair of gym shorts, striped yellow and red shirt and even a brand new fanny pack that his sister bought him last weekend, he sat down in his office and thought about where his life was.

Like Rachel, he knew that no one liked him and that he kept his job solely because of fear. He wasn't a bad guy, he knew that, but if he continued the way he was….then was he just going to end up alone? Was he going to end up friendless, wife-less, with only his sister as a confidante?

He sighed and stared at the sandwich on his desk.

"I'll probably die of a heart-attack first." He muttered and took a bite of his sandwich before leaning back in his chair. He had cookies in his desk that he was saving for after he smoked and went to seventh period gym. He'd eat them there when he made the guys and girls run laps. At least there was some joy to brighten his day.

When a knock came on the door he yelled for them to come in, if he had known it was going to be Emma, he would have yelled for her to go away. "What?" He asked, a little sharper than he had originally intended.

"I…I won't be eating in the teacher's lounge…anymore." She told him, "so you can…eat there again."

Despite how angry he was, how much he just wanted to yell at her, he didn't. Deep down he had known all along that she hadn't wanted him, that he had been fooling himself. So he just shook his head, "I like eating here. I go over basketball plays."

"You hate basketball."

He shrugged, "doesn't mean I don't still have to coach the team. Goodbye Emma."

She seemed startled at his dismissal but took it anyway, her large eyes, always seeming like they were on the verge of tears, looked even more hurt than usual as she turned away and walked out the door. No matter how many times it happened, it still hurt watching her walk away. Ken looked down at his bitten sandwich and then pulled out his cookies. He was going to need them sooner than he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Apparently, Rachel should get angry more often, Mike decided, as Mr. Schue was lecturing them on the difficult road they had ahead. Mike wasn't listening though, he was watching Rachel, who was smiling smugly still, no sign of regret for her song choice. He smiled when she looked in his direction, pleased at how well they had danced together, at how impressed she always looked when she watched him.

Finn was (and had been) watching both of them, looking mighty unhappy at being the only one not surrounding Rachel. Mike couldn't help but be pleased and so when they were dismissed he shrugged an arm around Rachel's shoulders, whispered very lightly into her ear, "go with this, I have a plan," before saying, much louder but still casually, "That was a ton of fun, you have some awesome moves."

She recovered quickly from his attention and laughed, "well, that's high praise coming from you."

"Glad you think so." Arm around her shoulder they continued to the door, "you wouldn't happen to be interested in going dancing after school today, would you?"

In truth, his heart was pounding in his chest, he really was afraid she was going to say no and ruin everything. Instead she put his worries to rest, "are you kidding? That sounds great. But where is there to dance around here?"

"Oh Rachel," He was grinning then, "I have a whole new world to show you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The walk back to her car was awkward and quiet, Rachel was more focused on getting out of the school to find out what was going on than Mike's arm still slung over her shoulder, or the strange looks her fellow classmates were giving them. Finally they were in her car, alone, she turned to him. "So, we're what? Like a fake item?"

"Yes!" He was grinning, his expression smug and sly. She had never figured Mike Chang for a schemer but from the sparkle in his eyes and his wickedly cheerful expression it seemed he was exactly that. "Finn is already insanely jealous. I mean, I know you think he's a God and all of that but trust me, he's just like everybody else. We all want what we can't have."

"We're going to make me unattainable?"

"Oh yes. Completely. We will be _the_ most ridiculously-in-love couple at McKinley High- we'll spread cavities throughout this school faster than Halloween does to second graders." He reached to the side and pushed his seat back and she turned a little to catch his eye evenly. "Plus, Rachel, it explains why I'm around you so much, people were going to start asking, it was inevitable. This solves that too- we both get what we want." He seemed so excited about this but she knew the reality of what he was about to do, Finn had given her that bitter tasting medicine only hours earlier, after all.

She swallowed and took a deep breath before spilling out her thoughts into the air (at that maddening speed which drove her dad absolutely batty). "But- but why? I mean, think about what this is going to do to your reputation. You don't have to do all of this for me, it's not like my motives were entirely altruistic." Another deep breath but controlled so he couldn't hear it (she was _so_ trained), "Glee club is something that I need, it's a stepping stone to my bright and fabulous future- I didn't need compensation for my efforts. Do you realize what this is going to do to your reputation? I'm a pariah in that school, nobody likes me- which is the second time I've had to state that today, might I add- and no, it hasn't lost its bitter flavor-"

"Rachel-"

She ignored him, "and after you've done so much to preserve your status, I mean, you didn't go for help when your parents kicked you out- you fared homelessness so that people wouldn't know! I don't want to ruin that! I even dropped you off this morning blocks away so you would not have to be seen with me. I didn't forget anything at home, I just wanted to spare you the humiliation-"

"Rachel-"

"So you don't have to feel guilty or anything, I'm not being nice, you're the best dancer we have. We need you to win-"

He was sitting up, interrupting her again by putting both hands on her shoulders and staring dead into her eyes. "Rachel," he repeated for the third time, his eyes very serious and, she noted, beautiful. He was beautiful, actually, no wonder he was so popular. "Will you stop? I don't give a damn about my rep, okay? That's not why I didn't go for help after my folks kicked me out."

"Then why?"

He dropped his hands from her but the warmth of where they had been lingered on. "Because I don't want to go to foster-care and live with strangers. I don't want to be shipped to another school, that's going to be just like this one but with no one I know. I like this school, I like the sports teams here and I like Glee club- just as much as you, probably. It's fun and I get to dance." He gave her that boyish grin that probably broke more than few hearts. "You should know," he added, "that I'm not just helping you with Finn because you helped me- I mean, it's part of it but, the truth is, you're fun to be around, Rachel. I'd like to be your friend."

She looked down at her hands, smiling. "thanks, I like you too…Michael." She looked up at him, "so would you really like to go dancing? That sounded like a lot of fun."

"More than anything."

He wanted to be her friend. Rachel smiled.

Preview:

Mike and Rachel see each other in a new light.

Poor Ken gets more bad news and Finn gets jealous.

Warning: Quinn comes to play in the next chapter and while I love her softer side, I should warn that I love her strong, bitchy side a whole lot more. Also, I have no allegiances to Puck/Quinn or Finn/Quinn so she may not end up with either. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks everyone for such a warm reception!!! I'm so glad people are enjoying the story and taking the time to reply. I responded to everyone (although I couldn't get to every single reply because fanfictionnet wouldn't let me (apparently you can't respond to a chapter more than once. I swear I'll figure out all these little quirks and rules at some point!). So to those who I didn't get to, check the end of this chapter, I've put my responses to you in here! _

Ken's part in this chapter is small- but important- as this is the event that kicks his story into full gear.

I've learned an important lesson: I am not good at writing dancing scenes, so please, bear with my inept, clumsy style and if you have any suggestions to make it better, please, send them my way!

sigh I have an OC, I didn't want to write one but I kind of had to so the story could progress correctly.

**Chapter 2**

**All The Right Moves**

Mike had spent the entire time it took for Rachel to get ready wanting to punch Finn Hudson in the face.

It started in the car, really, as she drove them back to her place yammering on excitedly about how she had never gone to a non-gay club before. When he just stared at her in response, she had shrugged and explained that her dad's took her to go see their friend perform at a local club. She loved drag queens, she had told him, when she was little they would play dress up with her. None of that, of course, had made him want to punch his friend. No, it was the conversation prior to that. Fragments of it kept repeating in his mind. _I'm a pariah in that school, nobody likes me- which is the second time I've had to state that today, might I add- and no, it hasn't lost its bitter flavor_

Who had she said that to? Finn? When she did, did he have the decency to look apologetic? Did he know what pariah meant? _I even dropped you off this morning blocks away so you would not have to be seen with me. _She had said, as if she was an embarrassment, as if she didn't matter. _Think about what this is going to do to your reputation._

He had thought about it and he wanted to shake her, to tell her that and explain that she was way cooler than those idiots that couldn't even play sports. At least she was _good_ at something- how many could boast that at McKinley? So what if Finn cared more about his reputation. Finn was a pussy, plain and simple.

But the anger really hit home when he heard her voice, loud and clear as bells, coming from her room.

"I was staring at the sky, just looking for a star

To pray on, or wish on, or something like that

I was having a sweet fix of a daydream of a boy

Whose reality I knew, was a hopeless to be had

But then the dove of hope began its downward slope

And I believed for a moment that my chances

Were approaching to be grabbed

But as it came down near, so did a weary tear

I thought it was a bird, but it was just a paper bag_"_

He didn't know who sang it originally but knocked anyway (wanting to hear her sing more of it), the music continued to pour out as she opened the door. She was dressed differently than she normally did, in a black, lacy tank with wide shoulders and sloping v-neck that flipped out a little. Instead of her usual, preppy short skirt she was wearing dark blue jean shorts. Her hair was loose and curly around her shoulders, making her look pretty much epic- bond-girl hot but the expression on her face was still pure-and-naïve hot (how did she do that?) and the mixture made his teenage hormones cry out inexcitement. Really, he had no words and so he just reached out and twirled her as she sang.

"Hunger hurts, but I want him, so bad, oh it kills." Smoothly he touched her elbow and led her down the hall, but she pushed him slightly away. "But I know I'm a mess he don't want to clean up. I've got to fold, 'cuz these hands are too shaky to hold" He turned around her, "hunger hurts but starving works- when it costs too much to love."

"You look…wow." She gushed at him forgetting the song suddenly (as if she hadn't been singing at all) and letting the music drone out into the background when she shut her bedroom door. She walked around him with a measuring glance. "Classic fifties look, white t-shirt but still the shag hair and straight leg jeans. Nice." She completed the circle to look him straight in the face, "you've far exceeded my hopes for an escort for the evening, Mr. Chang."

"Well you, Miss Berry," He told her, mocking her tone, "look like you're going to need an escort- and possibly a bodyguard."

…And I went crazy again today, looking for a strand to climb

Looking for a little hope

Baby said he couldn't stay, wouldn't put his lips to mine,

And a fail to kiss is a fail to cope

I said, 'Honey, I don't feel so good, don't feel justified

Come on put a little love here in my void,' he said

'It's all in your head,' and I said, 'So's everything'

But he didn't get it I thought he was a man

But he was just a little boy…

He watched as the red crept up her face, "are you sure you're up for dancing? I'd understand if you wanted to just stay home…"

He did, kind of, especially with her looking like _that_. His teenage male mind could come up with millions of things for them to do in the privacy of her bedroom but he shook his head, "nah. I think I need a night out, I want to feel like a normal guy for once."

"You're way better than normal," she told him, offering an arm, "you're extraordinary, you were my hero today, you know that? Like some kind of gallant knight saving me from the dragon's fiery breath of humiliation- worse, high school humiliation."

He took it, grinning back at her. "Well, I try."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Brittany and Santana had decided to go dancing instead of dinner, Finn had jumped at the idea, especially when Brittany had let it slip that it was Mike's favorite club.

And why?

Because Mike Chang had his arm around Rachel Berry, inviting her to go dancing and she said _yes_. She was going to go on a date with someone else. It wasn't that he didn't trust Mike, he seemed like a stand up guy. He was kind of quiet, pretty easy going and he had never heard of him being a womanizer or anything…

Still- Mike and Rachel? Something was definitely not sitting well with him about the whole thing. Was Mike really that angry over Brittany? They hadn't been dating for weeks, maybe longer and Finn had never thought they were that close.

"Puck is super fine…"

Santana and Brittany were in front, Santana was driving. They weren't paying much attention to him and they hadn't since he entered the car. Mostly they talked about themselves and other cheerleaders. Apparently the entire team was vying for head cheerleader now that Quinn was 'persona-non-grata'- whatever that meant. They were also looking for other cheerleaders- which is about when Finn's mind left _their_ conversation and began imagining scenarios on why Rachel would want Mike and vice versa.

She had to be just hurt- right?

He heard his name in the front but ignored it, mind still reeling. Was Mike really that angry? Would an apology clear this up and the madness? And why didn't he feel at all like a rock star when he was on a date with two girls at the same time?

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Quinn's Aunt Mindy was the black sheep of the Fabray clan. She had tattoos up and down her arms, a chain-smoking habit and pension for dating the wrong kind of men…or women. She was a thin once-upon-a-time blonde cheerleader but now green haired twenty-something tattoo artist (and lived above the shop she worked at) who drove a smart car with a sticker on the back bumper that said _Glenn Beck is the devil_.

So when Quinn left Finn's before he could kick her out, or worse, let her stay, she went straight to the only person in the world who would take her in, whether they got along or not. She had told herself a long time ago that she'd never end up there, that's why she had moved in with Finn in the first place but now she had no other choice.

Mindy Fabray.

She was the most exhausting person that Quinn knew, always on the go, never sat down, never backed off. She was tenacious and bitchy, she got her way and no one got a word in when she was around. Sometimes Quinn loved her, other times Quinn hated her but she was never comfortable around her.

"You have to come," Mindy was saying, putting her tangled hair into a ponytail, "I don't go to clubs alone and Janie is back in jail for soliciting."

"Does it bother you that your best friend is a drag queen prostitute?"

"It bothers me that she got caught," the woman shrugged, "can you finish lacing this?"

It was a black, leather corset. Black and leather. Seriosuly. Quinn sighed, got up from the tiny kitchen table and flexed her fingers before assisting her aunt. Their apartment was pretty trashy, posters lined the walls of bans Quinn's never heard of, interjected with pictures of tattoos her Aunt did in no conceivable pattern. An interior decorator, Mindy was not. When Quinn tried to fix all that, the disarray giving her a constant headache, her aunt corrected her, saying it was her place and she liked it as it was. Right. The refrigerator was a cheap white thing, the shelves were black, the floor was some miserable green color…

_I miss being home. I do. I miss being daddy's little girl. Why on earth did I ever sleep with Puck?_

The answer, of course, was she had been miserable and as ideal as home looked now, back then it was cold and lonely. Back then she had been losing Finn's attention, Santana wasn't letting her forget that her boyfriend was becoming a loser Glee club member and Sue, as always, was pressuring her to be thinner, better, stronger, faster and prettier…

Puck made her feel beautiful- if only for an hour or two.

Now his constant dalliances were making her feel even worse than she did when she was the princess of purity. Worse than everything else was…she was getting jealous over _Rachel Berry_. She missed the days of mocking her mercilessly on myspace, drawing pornographic pictures of her on the bathroom walls and making her as miserable as Quinn currently felt at that moment. Not out of spite, out of jealousy. Because Rachel Berry knew who she was, she accepted who she was and she went with it.

But who was Quinn Fabray?

It was a question she had never been able to answer and now she was even more confused. "Q, babydoll, you okay?"

"I'm pregnant. Pregnant people are emotional."

"Oh. Right." She turned around and stared her right in the eye and then shook her head, "now what's bothering you right now? Besides being knocked up."

Quinn gave an exaggerated sigh, "my boyfriend is a slut, my best friends all ditched me and my family refuses to acknowledge my existence. All I have is Glee club and I have this funny feeling that Ms. Sylvester is out to destroy us again and I don't know what to do."

Mindy put her hands on Quinn's shoulders and looked her square in the face, "being a Fabray is pretty much like being Satan, Q." Mindy told her. Before Quinn could open her mouth to protest though, her aunt was going on, "we are pretty much self-involved, self-congratulatory little bitches who always get our own way. Don't you think it's time to use that?"

"Um…"

"Listen to what I'm saying, you're not slow so pick up the pace, Q. You fight fire with fire. You want to keep Glee going? Ditch the baggage and fight for what you want- no holds barred. It is, after all, the only way to win. Now go change- something bright and cheery. We're leaving in a few."

"Let me call someone, you'll just be disappearing in the bar and I won't be able to find you all night."

"Calling Puck?"

"No," Quinn said with a sigh, "just a friend, tonight. I can't deal with anymore baby angst."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm being evicted."

Ken looked at the notice in his left hand and held his phone in the other, his sister on the other end. She lived in Columbus, Ohio and worked for the state. She was married with two kids, had a white picket fence and a dog.

He lived in a ratty apartment that was about to be mowed down to become a parking lot for a piercing and tattoo parlor/crazy freak clothing store next door. He always hated that stupid shop and its freaky customers and now it was getting him evicted. Just _great_.

"How long do you have to get out?"

"A while, a year, actually. But still. I hate moving."

His sister was silent for a minute (it was never a good sign, it meant that she was thinking and was about to give orders). Finally she sucked in a breath and said in a tight, waspish voice, "well it's about time you got out of that dump and into a real home, brother-dear. It's a mess and it's time you clean your life up."

Easier said then done but he kept that opinion to himself. "I'll get right on that." As much as he tried, he couldn't keep the cynicism out of his voice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mike stopped her before they went in, touching her shoulder gently and urging her to turn around, which she did. "Hey- you alright?"

She nodded.

"Truth?"

"The truth is, I want to have fun. I don't want to think about Finn or his threesome. Are _you_ okay?"

"Rachel, these last two days have been the first time I've been okay for a long, long time." Impetuously, he touched her cheek with his hand, smiling. "Now…are you going to show me some moves or are you just all…notes?"

She laughed, "I'll do my best to maintain."

He twirled her around and passed a few of the people hanging outside the club, nodding to the other Mike, who was the bouncer, before walking inside, watching Rachel's expression as she walked inside. He knew the moment she was impressed, it was like watching her when she was doing that duet with Mr. Schue and her expression got all dazed and dreamy.

It was hard not to be impressed with Sanctuary. It had been an old church and so the windows were all stained glass: pictures of crucifixion, Mary holding her son's broken body and other saints plastered beautifully but depressingly on the windows. The ceiling was high, held up with large, gothic stone walls, with balconies in the back where the people over twenty-one went to drink. The bottom floor was the dance floor- large and full of people but not so packed that some moves couldn't be made. In the center of the floor was a stage, a few people on it, dancing together and looking like they were having an amazing time.

Mike turned back to Rachel who looked almost giddy then. The loud thumping music and the strobes made her movements seem jerky and surreal. She was motioning for him to join her on the dance floor, trying to yell over the music but not being able to. When he didn't come right away, she grabbed him and started pulling him toward the floor, body already moving to the techno sounds, arms going into the air as she gyrated her body to the beat. He fell in sync with her almost immediately, it felt natural and easy to move against her, to move his hands up her body and then away as she turned around, moving down quickly then shooting up again to the beat.

Then he saw it. That damn show smile she used and the stiffness, he hated that she didn't use her natural ease and beauty to her advantage. He stopped dancing and took hold of her shoulders, keeping their gazes steady he placed a leg next to hers, using it to guide her body to his. She seemed shocked at first but followed his instruction and let him slide hand down her side, over her thigh to move her leg loosely to the right.

She had one hand on his shoulder to steady herself as he moved her leg and then she stepped forward, this time her body was more loose and when he looked at her face the fake, plastic smile was gone, replaced with something…he couldn't quite discern.

He snatched his hands away, then twisted his body, using his leg the way he had shown her and she followed suit, surprisingly open and not at all combative to what he was trying to do. He gave her a thumbs up and a goofy face before showing her the combining step that made it entire move. When she accomplished it so quickly, she was smiling, happily and not the fierce, show smile she always used.

They did the move together this time, combining their bodies by almost twisting them together, then coming back out and locking hands, rush out, come back in. He was surprised to find her laughing in his at the finish and they did some play, fun moves, that looked good but were ultimately just easy and fun to do.

It went like that, the dancing, the teaching, the touching. Yeah, he knew they were friends and that this wasn't a real date (even though it totally felt like one and if it were actually a date he'd rank it pretty up there). Still, he was a guy and she was moving awfully close to him (not to mention that touching her body, pretty much all over, to teach her moves without talking was pretty sexy) and so his body was acting accordingly. She didn't seem to notice and even though it was kinda like torture, he continued to dance with her (which was saying all kinds of weird things about him that he was _not_ about to think about. Like he didn't have enough issues) because he didn't want this bubbling happiness inside him to end or that easy, sincere, smile of hers to fade.

The guy moved like a God. No one danced like him, no one, and so Rachel followed his movement, memorizing it with her eyes and followed his teaching without hesitation.. She knew how people saw her: as a bossy know it all (was it really her fault that she did know so much?) but when it came to learning something new, she was always open to it- only fools didn't want to know more (which is how she ended up knowing so much in the first place, anyway).

However, learning something different and new had never been _so much fun! _Michael was laughing and easy to be around, he was funny and nice. He didn't get mad when he had to show her twice (unlike the zillion other dance teachers she'd had in the past) and he interjected tough moves with easy ones so that she didn't get frustrated.

And the way he touched her…

She put that thought away, burying it beneath the competitive edge of learning something new and keeping her eye on the prize- beating out Vocal Adrenaline. Then that got buried too, beneath the fun and the laughter as he made a face at her and then showed her a new move, his hand dangerously close to some areas that sent a little thrill up her spine.

She hadn't even noticed the other people paying attention to them, mimicking his moves too, nor the others who were dancing with them and not shying away from her like she was some kind of plague (a very painful truth about her daily life at McKinley). By the time she did notice, she was dancing with a stranger, a tall, lean black man with high cheek bones in a loud yellow shirt and sagging black pants. Michael was dancing with a willowy red head dressed for a strip club. A stab of jealoiusy surprisingly went through her but she ignored it (kinda, well, as best as she could. She was only human, despite her divine talent that clearly contradicted that idea) and danced with the man, then switched partners again, then was dancing with two guys, then a girl and finally she made it back to Michael (thankfully). He returned to her from dancing with three other girls (which took her by surprise- what other guy would do that?) and moved with her like he had never left at all in a fashion she, innocent as a kitten, was not quite prepared for.

However, she knew how to improvise so when he pulled her leg up against his body, hand settling under her so that he could lightly drag her other foot on the floor, supporting all her weight, faces merely centimeters apart, she went with it. Her entire body was singing with the beat as they moved. He whipped her away, then back to him, twirling them across the floor expertly so that she didn't even have to think. The moves he had shown her earlier came like magic and they were attracting people to surround them.

Dancing was always exhilarating. Dancing with Rachel…

It was more.

Yeah, he had danced with Brittany and the girl had moves- she was far more advanced than Rachel in that way, she knew the steps and how to do them. But with Rachel…it was different. Really different. It was like magic. Maybe it was because she got so caught up in it and that she just dragged you into it with her and suddenly you were an all new person. Suddenly you weren't just some invisible guy whose life was a mess and who was destined to be another LimaLoser, you were a person, you were a _star_ just like she was. He had to admit, when she first found him in the auditorium, he had been in such a dark place. A part of him knew that he was going to end up like that crazy guy on the street, muttering to himself, or maybe even worse- some idiot drug addict, drowning his sorrows in heroine or something.

But then she came, like some ridiculously bossy angel and changed everything. Now things seemed possible again. He felt special and optimistic. So when he got pulled away into the crowd, he had spent most of that time trying to get back to dancing with _her_. When he finally found her, he got caught up in the moment, he pulled her intimately close and supported her whole body with his (praying to whatever God there was- even his parents psycho-sun one- that she did not feel just exactly how much of a typical teenage boy he was) and dragged her across the floor before flinging her away, only to bring her back to him. He ran his fingers up the smooth skin of her arm, pressing her back to him and their cheeks together, then spun her and pulled her so close that not even air fit between them. She kept up, easy, and went with it (surprisingly).

This was a Rachel he had never seen. Her curls were wild and untamed and there was a sheen over her skin from sweat. She was breathless, light pink lips parted and eyes luminous. She'd be so pissed if she knew how uncultivated she looked right then (but she'd probably not be pissed to know how hot she looked. Not that he was ever, ever, ever going to tell her) and so he smoothed her hair down for her.

But her eyes were no longer focused on him.

They were locked over his shoulder and when Mike turned around, he felt the happiness and magic of their moment passing and being sucked into a hole of irritation. He was suddenly face to face with Finn, Quinn, Santana, Brittany and Mike.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Finn was frozen in his spot with Santana on his left, Brittany on his right (their pinkies linked behind his back, what was up with that? It was hot though). Quinn was on the other side of Brittany- and he still wasn't sure how she managed to sneak up on them but Matt was behind her, looking uncomfortable. Not that he was paying much attention to any of them. His focus was entirely on Rachel who had been dancing with Mike like she was going to screw him right there on the dance floor.

His stomach was like a tight fist and he felt sick inside.

He knew he had no right to feel any of this. He wanted to be a rock star. He wanted to explore his options and find himself (ie: not date the most unpopular girl in the school). Mike had even asked his permission to go out with Rachel. So why did it feel like he was being betrayed when he was so obviously wasn't? And why did he want to throttle Mike, grab Rachel and run out the door of the stupid club (why did he come again? It's not like he had a hard on for dancing). When Mike turned around he looked almost surprised as Rachel.

And Rachel…

Rachel did not look like Rachel at all. Rachel was usually pressed, everything in place and completely controlled. Right then she looked wild and carefree, leaning into Mike like he was the one in the lead. It was really, really bothering him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rachel blinked once, then twice and looked helplessly at Michael, unsure of what the hell she was supposed to be doing. She felt _guilty_ like they had been two lovers caught in the act and she didn't even know why. She and Mike were a fake couple, she and Finn weren't even a couple and that jerk was on a date with not one, but two, girls. Two girls who, quite often, liked to make her life a living hell. But with Quinn, Matt, Santana, Brittany and Finn looking at her like a harlot, she might as well had a giant read A on her chest.

Michael, however, was recovering quickly. He automatically put an arm around her waist and smiled broadly. His confidence seeped into her like magic and she looked up to him, grateful for his resilience and was (hopefully) ready for anything.

*** song credit: Fiona Apple Paper Bag

_Previews_

_A very long ride home._

_Rachel rescues Ken_

_Quinn is suspicious of Mike_

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Responses to replies:

Gewher : Thanks so much! So sweet of you to say!

I really do they'd at least give Mike a few lines, or something, he's so hot and his dancing?! OMG! So sexy. I love the faces he makes too, so I'm pretty sure he can act, at least a little!

Right now it's hard for to watch because I know (well, I speculate) about what will be happening to my Rachel. I 3 her scary self, lol. Jesse is going to rip hers out I know it. Poor girl.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!!! More coming like…now!

who's that lady?: Thank you for replying!!! I'm glad you like it!! That's what someone on livejournal said they were called. I love that name g

LOL! Well I'm glad we agree :g

And thanks again!!!

HRZN : Thanks!!! More coming right now!!!

lulubell76 : thanks!!! I simply adore him!!

Thanks everyone!!! You really got my muse going and so this chapter came right out!!!!


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